MichTel Communications, LLC and the Wireless Oakland Project Team are excited to announce that Cisco Systems, RF Connect, Dykema, UHY Advisors, Johnson & Anderson, Inc. along with several other professional service firms and several private investors are now joining the Wireless Oakland initiative. These are the first of many world-class partners MichTel Communications is attracting to the initiative.
"MichTel Communications has done a fantastic job engaging partners who support the goals of the Wireless Oakland initiative," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "These partners add financial strength, global expertise and international resources to this cutting-edge project."
The County's private-sector partner will fund, own, operate and maintain the wireless network. Free Internet service will be offered at a lower bandwidth and the private sector partner will charge fees for additional services.
MichTel Communications, LLC was selected by Oakland County in 2005 to provide all of Oakland County residents with free wireless Internet service by the end of 2007. MichTel will build out the needed wireless infrastructure throughout the county's 910 square miles to deliver Internet and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone services.
"MichTel is proud to have been selected by L. Brooks Patterson to take Oakland County wireless. His vision of the future will deliver economic benefits to the county for years to come. Not only will all residents be able to tap into the Internet for free, but the availability of the wireless infrastructure will help the county's economic development efforts worldwide. We look forward to serving the residents of Oakland County and helping the county grow," said Tony Yangouyian, MichTel CFO.
Cisco Systems was selected by MichTel and RF Connect as the underlying technology provider for the Wireless Oakland initiative. Cisco will provide wireless mesh equipment, switching and routing hardware, and management software. After a thorough evaluation process, MichTel and RF Connect chose Cisco for its industry leading networking products and for the benefits provided by a Cisco Powered NetworkTM;. The Cisco Powered Network is Cisco's premier partnering program for service providers. It provides joint marketing and technical training opportunities to service providers that build their networks with Cisco equipment end to end, and meet Cisco support and investment requirements.
"Partnering with MichTel in support of this important and forward-looking initiative is a great opportunity for Cisco to deliver our leading wireless mesh solution," said Alan Cohen, senior director of marketing for Cisco's Wireless Networking Business Unit. "The Wireless Oakland initiative is one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., and will help attract business and improve the quality of life for all county residents. This project will serve as a model for large scale municipal network deployments taking place across the U.S."
Jeff Hipchen, Vice President of RF Connect said, "We are proud to be an integral member of the team MichTel has put together for the Wireless Oakland initiative. We look forward to working with the other Wireless Oakland partners to bring technical aptitude and resources that already exist within Oakland County to this world class wireless network."
Wireless Oakland is an initiative launched by County Executive L. Brooks Patterson that consists of three goals. The first goal is to blanket the County's 910 square miles with wireless internet service. The second goal will directly address the County's "digital-divide" and provide low-cost or no-cost PC's and technology training to underserved population groups. Finally, the third goal will develop a Telecommunication and Technology Planning Toolkit that will support continued high-tech investments in local government and promote the integration of those investments with local community character and quality of life.
Additional information about the Wireless Oakland initiative can be found at www.wirelessoakland.org. For further information about the Press Release please contact Bob Dustman, Media and Communications Officer at (248) 858-1048.
